Police search for owner of tiger found in metro Atlanta neighborhood

Henry County police were forced to put down a tiger who was found loose in a Stockbridge neighborhood Wednesday morning, and now they are looking for its owner.

Police received a call around 6 a.m. of a tiger loose on Interstate 75 near the Jodeco Road overpass, according to a news release. While responding officers kept visual on the tiger, it began to run to the back of a residence in the Meadow Brook community and began to attack a dog.

“With the tiger in close proximity to a school bus route in a densely populated area, officers made the decision to put the animal down with gunfire fearing that occupants of the home could be in danger as well as others in the area,” said the release on Facebook.

Henry County Police and Animal Control are now investigating where the tiger came from. According to the AJC, animal control director Gerri Yoder said it could be “a victim of the exotic pet trade.”

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